


Janus’ Recovery

by FabledPhantom



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Body Image, Burns, Car Accidents, Comatose, Deceit | Janus Sanders-centric, Disfigurement, Eventual Romance, Fire, Hospitals, Human Sides (Sanders Sides), Insecure Deceit | Janus Sanders, Insecurity, Panic Attacks, Protective Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Recovery, Scars, Serious Injuries, it still has a happy ending though I promise, might’ve made this just a tad too angsty but oh well, slight romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:54:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27929350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FabledPhantom/pseuds/FabledPhantom
Summary: After an incident, Janus is left scarred both physically and mentally. This is the story of his recovery and how he copes after the fact.(Mind the tags. Also, please let me know if I missed anything that needs tagging.)
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Roceit, Romantic Roceit - Relationship, familial anxceit - Relationship
Comments: 6
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

The first thing Janus thinks when he wakes up is _‘Why can’t I open my eyes?’_  
Because normally when he wakes up, he opens his eyes, obviously. But for some reason, he can’t seem to move his eyelids. It’s not that they’re too heavy, but his body somehow feels both numb and pained all at once and he can’t move anything at all.  
There’s a beeping sound in the background, and maybe there’s something else too-but everything sounds so fuzzy. He hears a voice, and it’s at this point that he notices the feeling on his right hand-someone is holding his hand. But soon the speaking stops, and the hand slips away too. Janus tries to speak, but all that comes out is a raspy breath. He drifts back into unconsciousness.

Janus wakes up to the sound of loud beeping and panicked voices. The odd numbness is still there, but now there’s also a very, very tangible pain on his skin. He wants to scream but he can’t, so instead he begins hyperventilating. At least, sort of-his breaths are still raspy and fairly long, because for some reason his throat just isn’t working right. He’s not sure how much longer he stays like that until everything quiets again.

Janus somewhat expected to drift back into unconsciousness-but he didn’t. He was still awake, unable to open his eyes and barely able to move the rest of his body.  
Soon there are footsteps, and he hears the squeaking of a chair being dragged, and he hears someone sigh as they sit down. The person takes a deep breath, and then-  
“Hey, Janus.”  
And he swears he’s heard that voice before, and so he tries to remember the people he knows.  
“The procedure didn’t-“ they start, but think better of it, “Never mind. I’m sure the last thing you need is more bad news.”  
_Procedure? Bad news? What’s going on?_  
“So...” the person sighs, and rather than speaking, takes Janus’ hand in their own. The feeling is familiar, and now he’s sure he knows this person. He mentally files through the people he knows, until his mind drifts to Virgil. Could it be Virgil? No, they haven’t had a proper conversation in years.  
But at the same time, he’s becoming more aware of reality, and he realizes that he must be in a hospitable. The pain, the beeping, the procedure-they all point to him being in a hospitable.  
And isn’t it sad, that that’s the only situation where he thinks it would make sense for his brother to see him.

He wants to speak, but again, his voice comes out as nothing more than a raspy and broken breath.  
Virgil sighs, quiet for a moment.  
“Probably hurts, huh?” He asks dryly, “...That was a stupid question.”  
He waits patiently for Virgil to speak again-to say something, anything.  
“You probably can’t hear me, but...yeah, it’s your third week here. Y’know, in the hospital.”  
Three weeks? He had been out for _three weeks?_  
“I still wonder what you’ve been doing all this time. I mean, no one else has-“ he cuts himself off, but Janus knows what he was going to say.  
No one else has come to visit him. It’s sad, but it makes sense. He doesn’t have any friends. The best company he has is the ball python in his lonely appartement. He wonders if someone’s watching her.

There’s a long silence before Virgil speaks again.  
“...I hope you wake up soon. I-I mean, I know if anything you’re probably pissed that I’m here. That I disappeared for three years and I’m only visiting when you’re...” he stops, because if Janus doesn’t already know, he doesn’t want to be the one to tell him that he’s on the brink of death.  
“But, I mean-I know this is gonna sound so fake, but I’ve missed you, really. I always wondered what was going on with you.”  
_’Then why didn’t you call?’_ Janus thinks, but he knows that perhaps that’s not fair. Because he had given up on calling Virgil quickly after he had left. And oh, how he is regretting it now. Because for some stupid reason, Virgil thinks that he’s _upset_ to see him. That he would rather go through this alone than have his brother by his side to hold his hand.

The rest of the time, Virgil is silent. Janus only hears his voice again when he says, “Love you, Janus,” and walks out.

Janus wants to wake up. He needs to. He wants to talk to Virgil again.  
He starts by controlling his breathing. He does exercises so he can control his breath, and once he’s mastered that, he starts moving his mouth again. Not by much, but he can twitch his lips and make the occasional raspy grunt.  
After a while, he’s able to twitch his fingers and toes as well. Only on his right side, but still, it’s progress.

He practices these for weeks until one day, he is able to open his eyes. Except that when he does this, only one of his eyes is open. He blinks, the light hurting his eye. Once he’s adjusted to the light, the first thing he sees is Virgil gaping at him.  
“Janus? Janus, can you hear me?”  
He tries to answer, but can only manage a hoarse grunt.  
Suddenly Virgil is up, and he runs off somewhere until soon, several nurses file in to examine Janus, asking Virgil to leave for now.

Virgil doesn’t come back again, probably because almost every waking hour of Janus’ days are now spent on training his muscles to move and helping him learn to speak again. Once he is well enough to move his upper body fairly normally, they remove some of the bandages and offer him a mirror. He knows that he’s lost his eye and nose, and that the scarring he has will be permanent. But he takes the mirror anyway.

It’s like looking at a stranger.  
He looks nothing like he used to. For one thing, not only is his eye gone, but his eyelid and some surrounding skin as well. The injury didn’t allow him to have a false eye added, instead he just had a gaping hole in his face with a scar leading to the smaller hole where his nose used to be. The left side of his mouth has a thick scar running all the way up to his ear. Most of his hair on his left side had been burned off, including his eyebrow. The scarring is a reddish color-still fairly fresh, and it’s rough and bumpy. Part of his neck was also covered in burns, as was his left leg and arm, and some patches on his abdomen.  
He knows that no one should feel bad about something as trivial as their appearance, but how could he not be upset?  
He will get stares wherever he goes, either from disgust, pity, or fear. If he wasn’t already intimidating and unapproachable before, he definitely is now. Making friends will be impossible-and getting a boyfriend? Well, that’s just laughable now. And then there was his dream to become a lawyer. He was one of the top of his class in law, philosophy, and ethics-but none of that would matter now. No one would hire him with his face looking the way it did.  
But perhaps what upset him the most was Virgil. His brother hadn’t seen him in years, and now the first time he sees him again, he’ll be looking at the face of a horrifying stranger.

Eventually, he is well enough to be released, though he’ll have to use a cane and go to physical therapy. But he’s ready to be released, and they tell him that Virgil is waiting right outside for him. Thankfully, the new outfit provided for him has a long-sleeved coat and long pants, but his face is still painfully visible. He keeps his head down as he walks out.  
“Janus,” He hears his brother say, and he sounds so _relieved._  
Janus just nods to acknowledge him, not yet ready to reveal his new, ugly voice.  
Virgil takes his chin and moves to lift his face up, and Janus’ breath hitches as he takes a step back.  
“S-sorry. Did that hurt?”  
He shakes his head.  
Virgil moves closer, and this time instead of trying to move his face, he just tilts his own head to to try to look at his brother’s face. Janus steps back again.  
“What,” he coughs dryly, “What are you doing?”  
“Trying to look at you? Janus, are you ok? I mean, I know you’re not, but...” he trails off.  
“You don’t want to see me. Not-“ he tries to clear his throat, “Not like this.”  
“Of course I want to see you,” he slowly places a hand on Janus’ shoulder, “I mean, I know we haven’t been...close. But...you’re my brother. I miss you. I wanna see you.”  
“It’s not pretty,” Janus warns.  
“That’s ok.”  
Janus takes a shaky breath, and then lifts his head up.  
He was expecting pure hatred at worst and pity at best. But there’s none of those things. There’s no hatred, no pity, not even an inkling of fear or disgust.  
The only expression he can see is love.  
Virgil hugs him, wrapping his arms around him and smiling. Soon, Janus hears the quiet sound of crying.  
“I’m sorry,” his voice cracks-whether from his injuries or sadness, he can’t tell, “I-I know it’s not easy to look at.”  
Virgil pulls back, looking at Janus.  
“No-no, that’s not it, i-it’s just-I’m just so happy. I thought you might not m-make it,” he says with a shaky voice, hugging Janus again.  
Janus hugs him again, gently rubbing his back. After a while, he speaks up.  
“Aren’t...aren’t you a bit...unsettled? It-it’s okay if you are. I understand.”  
Again, Virgil pulls back, chuckling dryly.  
“Not at all. It’s my brother’s face. I don’t care what it looks like.”  
Janus can’t find any trace of deceit, only sincerity and love.  
They keep their arms wrapped around each other for a while, crying sad tears, happy tears, and everything in-between tears.

Eventually, they walk outside, reaching Virgil’s car. He opens the door for Janus, who takes a seat. Virgil follows after, sitting in the driver’s seat and starting the ignition.  
“Alright, let’s drive you home.”

_Drive.  
Drive.  
Driving.  
He’s driving.  
A car swerves in front of him, he spins the wheel as much as he can but-  
Crash!  
He crashed into something, and the sounds of the car’s safety alarms blare in his ears. He’s dizzy, but he tries to open the door. It’s stuck. And then there’s fire. There’s fire and he’s stuck and he can’t breathe, he can’t breathe, he can’t-_

“Breathe, Janus! Janus-Janus, you have to breathe.”  
He hears a voice coming from somewhere, but he doesn’t know where. Everything is still on fire and his skin is burning and there’s smoke in his lungs and he can’t-

“Breathe, Janus. It’s me, Virgil-I’m here. Focus on my voice, ok? In, two, three, four. Hold, two, three, four, five-“  
Eventually he catches on to the pattern, and he’s in a different place. He’s in a car, but it’s a different car, and it’s not on fire-and Virgil is there. Virgil is there.

“You ok?”  
“I-I need to get out of the car.”  
Virgil helps him out, wrapping an arm around him to steady him.  
“Panic attack?”  
“I-I think so.”  
“I’m assuming being in the car triggered it?”  
“Mostly, I think. But could-could we not talk about driving for a while either?”  
“Of course. C’mon, I’ll walk you home.”  
“How are you going to get your car ba-“  
Virgil waves his hand dismissively, “I’ll have a friend pick it up later. They can drive it back to my place.“  
Janus nods, and they head on their way to his apartment. He keeps his head down the entire time, which makes it hard to use his cane, but he manages. 

Once they make it to his apartment, the first thing Janus does is check on his snake.  
Virgil walks up behind him, smiling.  
“You got a snake, huh?”  
Janus nods, “Her name’s Kaa.”  
“Welp, looks like you’re still a huge Disney nerd.”  
Janus pointedly looks at his Nightmare Before Christmas t-shirt, “And you’re not?”  
Virgil chuckles, and Janus smiles at the sound.  
They both know they’re dancing around the real issue-that they haven’t seen each other in three years, that Virgil left with hardly any explanation. But they both know that neither of them are ready to talk about that yet.  
“You should take it easy for a while. Wanna sit on the couch and watch The Jungle Book?”  
“Sure,” Janus nods, “I should probably feed Kaa first, though.”  
Virgil nods, leaving to set up the movie. Janus feeds his snake, and then sits on the couch with a sigh.

Surprisingly, most of the movie is spent talking. They catch up, and Janus realizes just how much he missed. For one, Virgil dropped out of college to pursue a career in music. He’s part of a band now-and he’s made a few friends. He shows Janus some of the tattoos he’s gotten in the past few years, most of which seem like they have sentimental value.  
They keep talking, and by the time the credits start rolling, they’re both caught up. Virgil decides to stay for a week or so, to help Janus adjust and spend more time with him.

Things are far from perfect, but at least he has Virgil.


	2. Chapter 2

It’s Janus’ fourth week alone again. He had spent the first few weeks after his release from the hospital with Virgil-watching movies, playing games, or just talking. They still converse over the phone, and Virgil has promised to meet up for Christmas week.

But for now, he is alone again. And he hasn’t been to the grocery store in ages, and all that’s left in his house are a few cans of soup and some overripe fruit.  
He puts on the darkest and loosest clothing he can find, but there’s nothing to cover his face. He supposes he’ll have to go clothes shopping too.

He keeps his head down the entire walk to the store, and barely lifts his head to look at the item’s he’s picking up. Once he has everything he needs, he goes to checks out, leaving the store soon after.  
The items are heavy to carry, and he drops his cane and a bag of clothes.  
“Oh, here you go, sir!” Someone says, rushing over to help him.  
“Thank you.”  
The person nods, and they make eye contact as they hand him his things. The person looks horrified for a brief moment before putting on a rather unconvincing smile.  
“Do you need help carrying anything? I’m not busy.”  
Janus shakes his head, thanking them and continuing on his way.  
Well...that wasn’t terrible. At least they had tried to be nice.

He continues on his way, though he does have to pause every now and then. Finally, he makes it back to his apartment. Despite the fact that it’s four in the afternoon and he’s not all that tired, he decides to take a nap.

The next day, he decides to go to the park. Maybe some nature will help his mental health. He puts on some of his new clothes-gloves, a hat, a scarf, and sunglasses. This time he keeps his head up while he walks, and it’s much easier to navigate. Once he reaches the park, he takes a seat on one of the benches. There’s no one around, so he takes off his sunglasses to see better, and lowers his scarf to take a sip of his coffee.  
He zones out for a while, drifting off into his thoughts.  
He’s quickly pulled out of those thoughts when he hears a loud scream. It’s then that he notices a small boy-no older than six or seven-staring at him in fear before running off and hugging his mother, sniffling.

Janus lets a tear slip as he puts his sunglasses and scarf back on. It seems going out was a bad idea. He hurries back to his apartment, laying in bed despite how early it is. He thinks about taking NyQuil, because everything is too much and he doesn’t know what else to do but sleep or maybe have a drink. But he knows that’s a bad idea, so instead he puts on music and lays in bed. It’s not the best he could do, but it’s better than trying to self-medicate, at least.

Somehow, he manages to fall asleep, though he’s waken up by the sound of his cell phone blaring. It’s Virgil.  
“Hey, Janus.”  
“Why are you calling at this hour?” He groans.  
“It’s like...six PM? You good?”  
“Just tired,” he says, which is a half-truth.  
Virgil pauses, but decides not to press him.  
“So, um, me and my friends are having this party. And I was wondering if you wanted to go?” At Janus’ silence, he starts rambling, “I mean, you’d have to take a car so maybe that’s a bad idea-actually, um, yeah, never mind. Uh, sorry...” he trails off, and Janus can practically _feel_ his awkwardness.  
He doesn’t want to go. He probably _isn’t_ going to go. But to relieve his brother’s anxiety, he says, “I’ll think about it.”  
“Oh-ok! Cool. I’ll send you the details and stuff.”  
“Cool,” Janus echoes.  
“Um...yeah. Talk to you later,” Virgil says, and then a moment after, “Love you, Janus.”  
“Love you too,” Janus whispers hoarsely.

For the next few days, Janus thinks on it for a while, and soon, he is seriously considering going to the party.  
He doesn’t know why, but he is. So he calls Virgil and asks him to come over, because if he does go, he’s going to need a lot of preparation.  
Virgil does come over, and they hang out for a few hours before Janus brings up the topic.  
“So,” he starts, “These friends of yours-what are they like?”  
“Well, two of them are from the band. They’re twins. Both very loud and annoying, but whatever. Patton is sweet but also kind of overwhelming; he’s kind of like if a golden retriever were a person. Logan’s pretty chill, kind of a nerd though. I think you’d like him.”  
Janus pauses, thinking for a moment.  
“Do they...know about me?”  
“Kind of. I mean, I talk about you sometimes. And Logan knows you were in the hospital. That’s about it, though.”  
“Ah,” Janus says, pausing yet again.  
“I-Should we warn them about...Do you think they’d be ok with,” he gestures vaguely to his face, “this?”  
“I mean, if they’re not ok with you, then _I’m_ not ok with _them._ ”  
Janus shuffles, “I just don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.”  
“Woah,” Virgil says, starting to sound a little pissed off, “if someone finds my brother’s presence ‘uncomfortable,’ then they’ll be even _more_ uncomfortable when I shove my foot up their ass.”  
“Lovely visual,” Janus says with a sarcastic smile.  
“But seriously,” he says, “They’re really great. Trust me.”  
“If you say so.”  
Virgil smiles, and they continue watching TV until Janus falls asleep against his brother’s shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know if y’all can tell yet, but I absolutely _love_ Protective Big Brother Virgil™


	3. Chapter 3

Janus hasn’t dressed up for a while.  
Normally, he would wear his suit pants, with a nice shirt and a vest, complete with a bow tie, but now he doesn’t put nearly as much effort in.  
Instead, he wears a simple shirt and pants, throwing on a long black trench coat. The gloves hide his burned hand, and his hat, sunglasses, and scarf cover most of his face.  
Now he just has to remember not to take anything off like he did at the park.  
That, and he has to deal with the car ride there. Virgil is driving him, but it’s still going to be difficult. He doesn’t think he’ll ever be completely comfortable in a car.  
Virgil gives him large, noise-cancelling headphones to cover up the sound of the car, as well as provide some calming music. So, for the entire car drive, he sits there listening to music with his eyes closed, occasionally grabbing Virgil’s arm or shoulder for some kind of reassurance.  
Once they arrive, Virgil gently shakes his shoulder and motions for him to take of his headphones, which he does. Before Janus gets out of the car, though, he stops him.  
“Wait a sec, are you gonna wear all that?” He says, motioning to Janus’ face.  
“Yes?”  
Virgil sighs, “Why?”  
“As if you don’t know,” he says, coming off a little harsher than intended.  
“Look, dude. If they’re not ok with you, then they’re not worth either of our time. Besides, wouldn’t you rather just rip off the bandaid and have them see you now? I mean, if they’re gonna be assholes, wouldn’t it be better to know that upfront?”  
“It’s not that I’m worried about them being rude, I just don’t want to...” he looks off to the side, “frighten anyone.”  
Virgil laughs dryly, “Dude, they regularly spend time with _Remus._ I don’t think anything could scare them.”  
“Should I be reassured or frightened by this ‘Remus’ character?”  
“Yes,” Virgil deadpans.  
Janus sighs for what seems like the tenth time that day, and begrudgingly takes off his scarf and sunglasses.  
“Hat and gloves?” Virgil says.  
“They compliment the outfit.”  
Virgil shrugs, “Fair enough.”

With that, they walk to the house, which belongs to someone named “Patton,” apparently.  
As soon as they walk in, a cheerful looking man gasps and practically tackles them in a hug. He pulls back, grinning.  
“Oh! You must be Virgil’s brother! I’ve heard so much about you!”  
At Janus’ nervous look, Virgil chuckles, “All good things. Relax, Jan.”  
“Ah, well,” he sticks his hand out, “I’m Janus; it’s a pleasure to meet you.”  
The man shakes his hand, “I’m Patton! But you can call me Dad, Pat, Padre, or-”  
“C’mon pop-star, he’s gotta meet the others.”  
“Oh! Well, Logan’s right over there,” he says, pointing to a table with various snacks on it.  
“Thanks,” Virgil says, giving a half-hearted peace-sign.

“Yo,” he says, catching Logan’s attention.  
Patton had seemed at least a little surprised when he had gotten a good look at Janus’ face, but Logan didn’t seem to regard it at all. He simply nodded.  
“You must be Virgil’s brother, Janus,” at Janus’ nod, he continued, “I’m Logan. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”  
“Likewise.”  
Logan hesitates, and then, “Forgive me if this is too invasive, but I hear you were at the hospital. How is everything?”  
Janus kind of expected that question.  
He shrugs, “It’s alright,” he says, deciding to keep it vague.  
“That’s good to hear,” Logan smiles slightly.  
“Hey, uh, where’d the twins go?” Virgil cuts in.  
“Oh, I believe they’re in the kitchen.”  
“Cool,” Virgil says, bringing Janus to the kitchen.

When they enter the kitchen, only one twin is there, taking out a banana, a burger patty, and jelly beans to do god-knows-what with.  
Virgil coughs to get his attention.  
“Virgie!” The man yells, pulling Virgil into a bone-crushing hug.  
He pulls back, “Ooo, who’s this? Is this your brother?”  
Virgil sighs, “Remus, this is Janus; Janus, this is Remus.”  
“It’s a plea-“  
Remus cuts him off, “Just so I know right off the bat, are you down for a one-night stand?”  
Janus’ jaw drops, like actually drops in pure shock, because he doesn’t know what he was expecting from Remus but this was _not_ it.  
“Dude, he’s my brother and I’m, like, right here. Can you not?”  
“I never said I was _going_ to, I was just _asking._ ”  
Virgil just pinches the bridge of his nose in a futile attempt to lessen his growing Remus-induced headache.

Thankfully, by some miracle, Remus’ brother walks in.  
“Hey, Vir-“ he starts, and then notices Janus. He pauses for a solid three seconds before he bows-he _bows_ -with a dramatic flourish.  
“Greetings! I am Roman! It’s a pleasure to meet your acquaintance,” he says, but Janus doesn’t miss how he looks away from him.  
“I’m Janus; glad to meet you as well.”  
“Welp,” Roman says, “I have to go to the bathroom.”  
“But you just we-“  
Roman is gone before Remus can finish his sentence.  
Virgil looks like he wants to reassure him, but Janus is gone before he can. He goes over to talk to Logan, leaving Virgil with Remus.

Janus decides that Virgil was right-he really does like Logan. They talk for a bit, until Logan gets up to get a drink. It’s at this point that he notices Roman looking at him from across the room. Roman quickly looks away, embarrassed. Janus tries to ignore him, but it’s hard when when he keeps staring at him. It doesn’t help that he looks so nervous, too.  
 _’If I’m that creepy, then just fucking look away,’_ he thinks bitterly.  
Virgil seems to notice something’s off, because he goes up to him and asks if he’s okay.  
“I’m fine.”  
Virgil sighs, “Just tell me what’s wrong.”  
“Nothing, I just...” he trails off, and then motions to Roman, “He keeps staring at me.”  
Janus can pinpoint the very second Virgil’s expression switches from mild concern to completely pissed-off.  
“I’ll talk to him.”  
“No, you don’t-“ Janus gently grabs his brother’s wrist, “I don’t want to make a big scene.”  
“I won’t talk to him about the staring. I’ll just see what he’s up to, ‘kay?”  
“Fine,” he yields.

Virgil has to poke Roman’s shoulder to get his attention.  
“Ah, Virgil! Hello!”  
“So...what’re you doing?”  
Roman chuckles nervously, “Nothing, why do you ask?”  
“Don’t bullshit me,” he says flatly.  
“I was just-y’know...” he trails off.  
“Ok, let me be more direct: Why are you staring at my brother?”  
“ _Staring!_ I wasn’t stari-“  
“Cut the bullshit.”  
“Well, it’s just, he’s-he’s very, um, boys.”  
“He’s very boys,” Virgil deadpans.  
“He’s, oh jeez, I don’t know how to say this. I’m, like, gay, y’know? And your brother is really...”  
Virgil’s eyes widen as everything clicks, and then he fake-gags.  
“Wait, wait, you like my brother? Oh my god that is _disgusting._ ”  
Roman makes an affronted gasp, “He’s a very charming young man!”  
“Oh my god, that’s not what I mean-It’s just-“ he groans, facepalming, “My best friend and my brother... _ew._ ”  
Roman crosses his arms and rolls his eyes dramatically, “Well, whatever. How do I ask him out?”  
“Oh my god-“ Virgil takes a deep breath, “Look, you can go ahead and date him if you want, I don’t care, but you’re gonna do this on your own, buddy. Good luck,” he says with a lazy salute, leaving the living room.

Roman takes a deep breath, grounding himself before walking over to Janus.  
“Hello! I was-“ he starts, and his breath quickly catches in his throat because now _Janus is looking directly at him and wow how is it possible for someone to be so pretty and-_  
“Can I help you?”  
“Ah, well-I-I couldn’t help but notice your, um...charming appearance, and was wondering if you’d like to go on a date sometime? With me?” He says, voice switching back and forth between dramatic confidence and quiet mumbles.  
“You’re hilarious,” Janus deadpans, going back to his phone.  
And wow, okay, _ouch._ He definitely fucked that up. Roman doesn’t really know what to say to that, so he runs to Virgil.  
“Virge, you gotta help me out here.”  
“Nope,” he says, popping the p.  
“Virge, he made fun of me! He said I was ‘hilarious,’ can you believe?”  
“Well, what’d you say to him?”  
“I asked him out, obviously.”  
“Oh my god,” Virgil facepalms.  
“What?”  
“Dude, who just asks someone on a date out of nowhere? He probably thought you were messing with him.”  
Roman gasps, “I would never toy with someone’s heart in such a way!”  
“Whatever,” he huffs, “Like I said, I’m not getting involved in this. Unless you hurt him on purpose. Then I’ll kill you.”  
Roman huffs, heading to the bathroom to wash his face and give himself a pep-talk.  
After his pep-talk, he takes a deep breath and runs out and into the living room, walking up to Janus.

“I-“ he starts, trying to ignore how Janus is staring at him.  
He takes a deep breath, “Look, I’m...not as good at this stuff as I’d like to be, but...I-I’d like to get to know you better-maybe go out for coffee or...something cheesy like that. M-maybe I came off a bit strong earlier, and I’m sorry. But, I’d really like to spend some time with you. Even just as a friend, or-or whatever you’re comfortable with.”  
Janus studies him for a moment.  
“Wait, you...You seriously want to go on a date? With me?”  
“Y-yes,” he nervously fiddles with his collar, “Virgil said you might’ve thought I was ‘messing with you.’ I can assure you I am completely serious, though. I mean, you’re very...handsome.”  
“You truly believe that?” Janus says, completely and utterly perplexed.  
“Well, yes-Although I’m sorry if that sounds weird or creepy or something. I just-You look very nice.”  
“You truly believe that?” Janus says again, because he has to ask a second time, because this can not be happening.  
“Why wouldn’t I?” Roman asks, and now Janus is absolutely, thoroughly confused. The real question is why _would_ he?  
He must have been quiet for too long, because Roman starts talking again.  
“So...What do you say?”  
“I-“ Janus composes himself, “I have a lot going on right now-I don’t think I’m ready to date just yet, but...I would like to get to know you more as well,” he finishes with a slight smile, which is returned by one of Roman’s own.  
“That sounds wonderful.”

Later on, they’ll have their first date as boyfriends-sharing kisses, jackets, and eventually, a home. But for the next year or so, they simply enjoy their time together as friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I think this is the first multi-chapter fic I’ve actually finished. Thanks to to everyone who read, and even more thanks to those of you that commented or left kudos! I enjoyed writing this, and I hope you all enjoyed reading it. <3


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